Australia Day 2016 celebrated in Sri Lanka

The Australia Day 2016 was celebrated in Sri Lanka yesterday. Following is the message by Australia’s Acting High Commissioner Tim Huggins to mark the occasion.

On 26 January every year, Australians around the world celebrate what’s great about Australia and being Australian. 

On Australia Day, we celebrate Australia’s rich history, including our 40,000 year indigenous history, our strong values, our freedoms and of course our multicultural society. Australia in 2016 is one of the most multicultural nations on the planet, a fact that makes us proud. Contemporary multicultural Australia is a unique corner of an ever more connected and globalised world. 

Australia is proud of our friendly, open and strong relationships with people and nations from across the globe. Our partnership with Sri Lanka is highly valued and an enduring friendship, based on a long shared history of cooperation as Commonwealth and Indian Ocean nations. We established diplomatic relations in 1947 and have built strong ties in education, trade and investment, migration, development and, perhaps most importantly, vibrant people to people links. 

Australia’s Sri Lankan born community now numbers well over 130 000. Our Sri Lankan community is diverse and includes Sinhalese, Tamils and Burghers.  It contributes to all aspects of Australian life and enriches our diverse and multicultural society. 

We are proud to have been a longstanding development partner for Sri Lanka, over more than 60 years. From 2009, Australia has contributed more than $250 million to support Sri Lanka’s economic and social development. As Sri Lanka continues its economic growth and benefits from more trade and investment with other countries, our development cooperation will increasingly focus on attracting trade and investment flows and supporting new businesses in the most remote and poor communities across the country. 

Trade and investment links continue to grow, with two-way trade passing more than $900 million in 2014-15, and we’re aiming for a billion in the year ahead. Given the strong synergies that already exist between our two nations; I am confident that we can do even better, with considerable interest from Australian companies in agribusiness, infrastructure and education. We look forward to working with the Sri Lankan government on its economic reform agenda to support further growth and development here. 

As Indo-Pacific neighbours, Australia and Sri Lanka share many interests in today’s globalised world. We are as committed as ever to working together to combat maritime people smuggling, to prevent loss of life at sea and stop the exploitation of vulnerable people. More broadly, Australia greatly values Sri Lanka’s constructive engagement and support in international fora, including the Indian Ocean Rim Association, and I am sure our relationship will continue to be a model for enduring cooperation. 

In the year ahead, the Australian Government’s New Colombo Plan initiative will encourage more young Australians to live and study in Sri Lanka. And of course our cricketers will visit for a tour in July and August. Expect a fair few Australians to escape winter to come watch games in Colombo, Galle and elsewhere.

In early January, the Australian High Commission bade farewell to High Commissioner Robyn Mudie, who served as High Commissioner for four years. In early February, we will welcome our new High Commissioner, Bryce Hutchesson, who is committed to strengthening the friendship between our two nations in the years to come. Until then, happy Australia Day from all of us in the Australian High Commission.